Retail investors in AirAsia X Berhad (KLSE:AAX) are its biggest bettors, and their bets paid off as stock gained 11% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over AirAsia X Berhad by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 10 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insider ownership in AirAsia X Berhad is 14%

If you want to know who really controls AirAsia X Berhad (KLSE:AAX), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 45% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, retail investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit RM948m market cap following a 11% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of AirAsia X Berhad.

See our latest analysis for AirAsia X Berhad

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AirAsia X Berhad?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

AirAsia X Berhad already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of AirAsia X Berhad, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

AirAsia X Berhad is not owned by hedge funds. Tune Group Sdn Bhd is currently the largest shareholder, with 17% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 8.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, Capital A Berhad and Kamarudin bin Meranun are the second and third largest shareholders. Kamarudin bin Meranun, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

We also observed that the top 10 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of AirAsia X Berhad

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in AirAsia X Berhad. It has a market capitalization of just RM948m, and insiders have RM137m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 45% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over AirAsia X Berhad. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 20%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 13% of the AirAsia X Berhad shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand AirAsia X Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for AirAsia X Berhad that you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.